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Media Literacy: Now More Than Ever

Strategies and Free Digital Resources for all grades

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Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE) and Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA) have joined forces with WGBH to offer an exciting professional learning event focusing on media literacy and its importance in education today.

This informal event will open with appetizers and drinks, followed by a Keynote address by Andrew Metz, Managing Editor for FRONTLINE. Attendees will then have the opportunity to attend one breakout session planned by librarians, instructional technology specialists, and classroom teachers. Join us for the low price of $35.

Serious Journalism for Serious Times

Join FRONTLINE Managing Editor Andrew Metz for a conversation about the acclaimed series’ values and standards, and doing tough, fair investigative journalism when trust in the media is at an historic low and the president has cast the press as “fake news” and an enemy of the people.

Andrew Metz is FRONTLINE’s Managing Editor. With Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath, he oversees the editorial mission for FRONTLINE, working with journalists to develop and produce original stories, reviewing reporting for all FRONTLINE’s programming and managing collaborations with the series’ many journalism partners.

From the emergence of ISIS to the wars in Syria and Yemen, from the 2016 presidential election to the plight of refugees and immigrants in the U.S. and abroad, the work he has overseen at FRONTLINE has won every major award in broadcast journalism, as well as an Academy Award nomination for the 2017 film, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.

Breakout Sessions

Choose from one of four session offerings!

Session 1: Telling Science Fact From Science Fiction

Heather Goldstone

Presented by: Dr. Heather Goldstone

Heather Goldstone is a scientist-turned-journalist whose work introduces audiences to the excitement of discovery and the importance of science in our daily lives. She is science correspondent for WCAI and WGBH Radio, and host of Living Lab Radio, a weekly live-interview show about science and culture. She holds a Ph.D. in ocean science from M.I.T. and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her reporting on science and the environment has appeared on NPR, PBS News Hour, The Takeaway, and PRI’s The World. In 2014, she was recognized for the breadth of her reporting with WGBH’s Margret and Hans Rey/Curious George Producer award.

Three important and timely topics will be covered in this session

1. The current state of science literacy and why we sometimes deny factual information.
2. The science building on that which suggests we shouldn’t be calling anything “fake news”.
3. How to be a science-savvy media consumer and how to teach others to be science-savvy.

Our students live in a world that is drowning in information – some of it factual, but much of it not. How do we educate our students to navigate a world where much of the information they’re being bombarded with is designed to manipulate them? How do we teach students to apply these same skills to evaluate the news and information they see all around them? Where does this kind of information and media literacy fit in the school’s curriculum?

In this session, Newton South HS Librarians will share how they help students and faculty navigate the world of fake news and propaganda, develop research guides and tools for independent research, and share links to fact-checking sites such as Snopes.com and Politifact, as well as tips on how to reverse image searches on Google. Experiences working with classroom teachers to integrate these lessons and providing real-world in the moment lessons will also be shared.

PBS LeaningMedia, a co-production of WGBH and PBS offers thousands of FREE digital resources for K-12 across the curriculum that support students as they learn to be critical observers and creators of media. Carolyn will lead an interactive demonstration of how to search, save and share resources on the NEW REDESIGNED PBS LearningMedia site, and classroom teachers, Rachel and Christian will showcase specific PBS LM resources and classroom strategies for impactful and engaging instruction.

Here’s a sampling of resources on PBS LearningMedia that support instruction in media literacy across the curriculum:

The News and Media Literacy collection on PBS LearningMedia which includes videos, blog articles, student handouts, lesson plans, and tip sheets for families, helps students identify, analyze, and investigate the news and information they get from online sources. Contributors to this collection include PBS NewsHour and Common Sense Media.

How do we meet the needs of today’s digital learners and provide them with the skills they need to succeed outside the classroom? What’s the best way to help them become empowered, creative and responsible communicators across different media? The more students read, the more likely they are to think critically, learn independently and develop a lifelong love of reading. Using a variety of digital tools can help students develop strategies to understand information AND ignite a passion in them to become readers. Participants will see how media literacy education can be incorporated across the current teacher education curriculum with the help of the school librarian and other staff in the school building, giving students a chance to develop essential critical thinking skills using digital resources. Collaboration amongst teachers will lead to increased learning access for students.

Register Now

Sold Out!

Media Literacy: Now More Than Ever is now filled. Please contact MassCUE if you would like to be added to our waiting list.

All sponsorships filled!

Thank you to the following sponsors for this event!

Click on logos below for more information!

Sponsorship includes:

Banquet table for materials

Two complimentary registrations

Recognition before keynote along with 1-minute time slot to address attendees

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